Day 10 Newport RI July 1, 2021
Newport, RI is known as a New England’s summer resort and is famous for its historic mansions. It is an island twelve miles in length and two miles wide. It is also known for its rich sailing history and was the location for every challenge to America’s cup between 1930 and 1983. We found it interesting that every 4th grader must take sailing lessons. It is a school requirement. Yesterday we saw three different sailing camps. The kids looked like they were having tons of fun. You could tell the beginners from the more advance group. The advanced group had two sails and the beginners only one. They would work a while next to the docks and then the coach would tow them all out into the harbor. Next to the dock they had a three-masted square rigger and it is also used on the weekends to teach sailing.
In the morning we toured Fort Adams. It was built in 1824 and was active through WWII. Our guide was extremely passionate about the fort. He explained many times why there were no battles there. Reasons, the fort could attack you three different ways while you were in the ocean, then again on the river side and if you survived that on the harbor side. No enemy every tried. The fourth side was on the land side and he went into great depth how that would not work for the enemy. I thought of our grandson who loves things that explode like rockets. He would have loved this guide. If the enemy could not get over the walls, then they might try to dig under, so he took us into the tunnels built below the walls. There were steep slippery steps, and it was very dark even though we all had flash lights. When I found out there were more steps, I returned and waited for the group. Because there were no battles fought there, it is a state park. If there had been a battle it would be a National Park.
In the afternoon, we visited the “Breakers.” It was the Vanderbilt mansion. Cornelius Vanderbilt established the family fortune in steamships and later in the 1885 New York Central Railroad. The house had seventy rooms and forty rooms for the servants. The chef was the highest paid and earned $25,000.When they traveled in the winter they took their silver with them. The kitchen was amazing and probably had a hundred different copper skillets, and pans of every description. It took only two years to build because Mrs. V had already sent out the invitations for their daughter’s debutant ball. There were over 200 workers who worked on the structures while the interior walls were being built in Europe and then brought over and installed. I loved the music room which not only had a grand piano but a harpsichord as well. Cornelius played the violin and Mrs. played the piano.
For a change we had great service at dinner.
More to follow,
Tom & Holly